Lampung lifters triumph in national championships
Lampung lifters triumph in national championships
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Lampung finished atop the overall medal standings with 32
golds at the completion of the National Weightlifting and
Powerlifting Championship on Thursday.
The province's lifters collected 14 golds in the weightlifting
competition, which ended on Tuesday, and 18 golds in
powerlifting.
Tied for second with 17 golds each were South Kalimantan and
West Java.
West Java's Asep Setiawan grabbed the attention on the final
day when he broke his national powerlifting records in squat,
bench press and dead lift.
Competing in the 100-kg division, Asep lifted 345.5 kg,
breaking his previous mark by half a kilogram.
In the bench press session, he upped the mark from 225 kg to
225.5 kg, while in dead lift, he heaved 303.5 kg to again break
his old record by half a kilogram.
His total lift of 874.5 kg -- 1.5 kg more than his previous
record -- was not recognized as a new national record because the
rules state it must be at least 2.5 kg heavier to qualify in the
total lift category.
"It was my target to break the national record and win golds
here," Asep said." But we only miscalculated the total lift, so I
only passed my old record but failed to set a new record in the
total lift based on the regulations."
Asep, 26, hoped his strong performance at the nationals would
lead the Indonesian Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association
(PABBSI) to select him for the Asian championships and worlds to
fulfill what he called his dream.
In the 90-kg division, Doni Putra of West Sumatra set a new
national bench press mark of 200.5 kg, bettering the old mark of
200 kg set by Hadi of Central Java.
Overall, there were seven national records set in powerlifting
at the nationals. At the 2004 National Games in Palembang, South
Sumatra, several lifters were able to set new world records,
although they were not recognized as such because the event is
not part of the international calendar.
Lifters acknowledged that they faced various difficulties in
preparing for the nationals.
Asep said he was only able to prepare after the end of the
Ramadhan fasting month in November and his lifting was not
optimal.
He said his best dead lift was 320 kg, far above his national
mark.
Lampung lifter Sutrisno, who swept three golds at the World
Powerlifting Championships in Miami in November, won three gold
medals on Wednesday.
He admitted, however, that he was still tired from competing
in the worlds in Florida.